Chinese linguist impresses audience with eloquent renditions

Wen Jiabao, the current Premier of the State Council of the People’s Republic of China has played a prominent role in advancing China’s foreign policy positions and has become increasingly visible on the world stage as China’s economic power greatly expands.

Although at a recent media conference following the closing ceremony of the annual National People’s Congress, Premier Wen lost his renowned stage presence to a female linguist who flawlessly interpreted a line of ancient Chinese poetry quoted by the Premier.

Known for referencing to the revered third-century BC statesman Qu Yuan, regarded by many as the father of Chinese poetry, in many of his speeches, Wen cited the line “Yì yú xin zhi suo shàn xi, sui jiu si qí yóu wèi hui” from Qu Yuan’s Li Sao, or Words of Departure.

Transcribed as “My heart will always belong to my noble hopes, and for this I would have no regrets even if I died nine times over” by some foreign press, those well versed in ancient Chinese literature would note that the number nine is more often referenced in a non-specific way, translating to “quite a lot.”

Wen’s female linguist, Zhang Lu, became the focus of the media when she offered a more eloquent rendition of the ancient poetry quote: “For the ideal that I hold dear to my heart, I’d not regret a thousand times to die.”

Following the annual NPC conference last week, the terms “Zhang Lu” and “Beautiful Interpreter Zhang Lu” are now popular keywords among search engines, like Google and Baidu.